INNISFAIL - Engaging educators and other stakeholders as part of the province’s planned updates to the junior high curriculum will be key to the success of the initiative, says Jason Drent, associate superintendent at the Chinook’s Edge School Division (CESD).
Alberta Education is updating the curriculum for Grade 7-9 mathematics, Grade 7-9 social studies, and Grade 7-9 physical education and wellness and career life management.
“I’m happy to see the commitment to collaborating with key stakeholders,” Drent told the Albertan. “The government has talked about how they will be reaching out to our teachers, to our divisions and to our leadership in order to get feedback.
“That is big for us and we have been advocating for that. We are happy that they have gone forward with that direction. There’s no question that that stakeholder engagement is going to be very, very important.”
As part of the curriculum upgrade project, the province intends to engage teachers, parents and others, says minister of Education Demetrios Nicolaides.
“The experience and insights of our education partners are essential as we work together to build a comprehensive curriculum that will inspire a passion for learning and connect students more closely to careers,” he said in a press release.
As part of the curriculum update initiative, feedback will be gathered on content for career education, financial literacy, basic life skills and home maintenance, he said.
“This will help inform the organization of content and courses so school authorities can meet students’ needs for career readiness while helping support their success in the classroom and life after school,” he said.
Starting this month, educators and others will be reviewing the draft curriculum and content.
Alberta Education will also begin work with the Alberta Teachers Association (ATA) and school authorities to recruit teachers to review draft contents and provide input to “help inform its development at a later stage in the engagement,” he said.
Jason Schilling, president of the 46,000-member ATA, said in a release “The Alberta Teachers’ Association is encouraged to be part of the process which will help shape a curriculum that engages and promotes success for junior high school students.
“However, it’s our hope that teachers’ experiences and insights are included at the curriculum writing table and not brought in as an afterthought. While we remain optimistic, how this process will unfold remains to be seen.”
The public release of the updated curriculum content is expected in the spring of 2025.
Associate superintendent Drent says exactly how input will be gathered from educators and others remains to be announced.
“There are not those specific details yet, so obviously when that comes we will be excited to see how that moves forward,” Drent said.
Asked if he believes the current curriculum is in need of updating, he said, “I’m glad to see they are continuing the process. I think it is important and anytime we can have an updated curriculum that aligns with what are students’ needs are and where our partners need to see our students move towards.”
Since the 2022-23 school year, Alberta Education has implemented curriculum upgrades at the K-6 level, including English language arts and literature, mathematics, French and science.
The CESD is headquartered in Innisfail and includes junior high schools across the district.
